Bringing home back-office bank jobs won't fix labour tensions: analysts

Singapore

WITH unemployment set to rise amid Singapore's deepening recession, there have been calls of late to bring home back-office jobs in the banking industry that have been offshored to countries with lower labour costs and abundant manpower.

In a forum letter in The Straits Times, a retired ex-banker wrote that offshoring is a "disconcerting" trend, resulting in a loss of "basic understanding and fundamental banking skills" among the younger generation. These roles would also provide greater value-add to the economy than food delivery and private-hire driving, he wrote.